Bandango
04-07-2009, 11:07 AM
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/2.jpg
The year is 19xx. Western gaming never advanced beyond pinball. Side scrolling Japanese shooters have evolved into a strange new type of game where you control your avatar in a three dimensional environment and shoot down the barrel of a gun. Such an alternate history would have produced games very much like 8bit Killer, a retro FPS by independent game developer Locomalito. One part Wolfenstein, one part Contra, and one part Fist of the North Star, this simple shooter is a unique amalgamation of old school console conventions and old school first person shooters.
The name doesn’t do this game justice. 8bit Killer should have been called NostalgiaGun2000, or something else clever with the word nostalgia in it. It utilizes 32x32 pixel textures and a 64 color palette, meaning the bad guys look like escapees from that NES collecting dust in your attic. Pastel coloring and distinctive headgear expertly define the roles of each of these bad guys: blue are melee, the pink ones are fast, and the dudes in golden armor are tough as hell. Enemies even fire those dodge-able red orb bullets we all know and love from the good old days of run and gun shooters. But the memory train doesn’t stop there; the weapons, the pickups, the poorly translated cutscenes and the unforgiving fact that when you die three times, you’re back to level one all come together to make a game that feels like a little bit of every game I played and loved as a kid.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/1.jpg
8bit Killer features four chapters broken up into three acts. The first acts of each chapter truly channel the spirit of 2D shooters. They are long, no frills tunnels with little cover and lots of fast paced gunning and juking. You’ll even come across those Contra door turrets that must be destroyed before the next stretch of tunnel is opened. You really must see it for yourself. These initial levels are twists on the FPS model that I’ve never seen before. The second acts will be more familiar. Think Wolfenstein with clever enemies. The final acts are reserved for boss battles. They’re fun, nothing spectacular, but I don’t want to spoil anything for you
Locomalito accomplished something special with this game. It’ll take 45 minutes to complete, maybe an hour, but remember there are no saves. Play it! And one last thing, the soundtrack is fantastic. Locomalito credited Rushjet1 as a genius. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the 8-bit rock fest he composed for this game is so good that I’ve incorporated it into my play list for daily listening. It’s awesome.
8bit Killer is:
-easy to play but challenging enough to feel accomplished on completion.
-free
-a lovely nose dive into adolescent nostalgia
Locomalito’s homepage –
http://www.locomalito.com/index.php
Direct download (possibly NSFW banner adds) -
http://rapidshare.de/files/40055313/8bit_killer.zip.html
The year is 19xx. Western gaming never advanced beyond pinball. Side scrolling Japanese shooters have evolved into a strange new type of game where you control your avatar in a three dimensional environment and shoot down the barrel of a gun. Such an alternate history would have produced games very much like 8bit Killer, a retro FPS by independent game developer Locomalito. One part Wolfenstein, one part Contra, and one part Fist of the North Star, this simple shooter is a unique amalgamation of old school console conventions and old school first person shooters.
The name doesn’t do this game justice. 8bit Killer should have been called NostalgiaGun2000, or something else clever with the word nostalgia in it. It utilizes 32x32 pixel textures and a 64 color palette, meaning the bad guys look like escapees from that NES collecting dust in your attic. Pastel coloring and distinctive headgear expertly define the roles of each of these bad guys: blue are melee, the pink ones are fast, and the dudes in golden armor are tough as hell. Enemies even fire those dodge-able red orb bullets we all know and love from the good old days of run and gun shooters. But the memory train doesn’t stop there; the weapons, the pickups, the poorly translated cutscenes and the unforgiving fact that when you die three times, you’re back to level one all come together to make a game that feels like a little bit of every game I played and loved as a kid.
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww294/GoldenSandlewood/1.jpg
8bit Killer features four chapters broken up into three acts. The first acts of each chapter truly channel the spirit of 2D shooters. They are long, no frills tunnels with little cover and lots of fast paced gunning and juking. You’ll even come across those Contra door turrets that must be destroyed before the next stretch of tunnel is opened. You really must see it for yourself. These initial levels are twists on the FPS model that I’ve never seen before. The second acts will be more familiar. Think Wolfenstein with clever enemies. The final acts are reserved for boss battles. They’re fun, nothing spectacular, but I don’t want to spoil anything for you
Locomalito accomplished something special with this game. It’ll take 45 minutes to complete, maybe an hour, but remember there are no saves. Play it! And one last thing, the soundtrack is fantastic. Locomalito credited Rushjet1 as a genius. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the 8-bit rock fest he composed for this game is so good that I’ve incorporated it into my play list for daily listening. It’s awesome.
8bit Killer is:
-easy to play but challenging enough to feel accomplished on completion.
-free
-a lovely nose dive into adolescent nostalgia
Locomalito’s homepage –
http://www.locomalito.com/index.php
Direct download (possibly NSFW banner adds) -
http://rapidshare.de/files/40055313/8bit_killer.zip.html